Nicholas Torres

Professor at the University of Pennsylvania

Nicholas Torres, cofounder of the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal, consults to organizations on projects that have the potential for high social impact. He is on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government and is President of Education-Plus, Inc., which scales higher-education models for low-income students and school-based health centers, while providing cyber education for specialized populations. From 2000-2010, Mr. Torres served as President of Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc., one of the nation’s premier multi-service organizations. As President of Congreso, he launched a K-College continuum of educational services; instituted mental-health and primary-care services as part of its integrative approach; and standardized a model of case management across child welfare, welfare to work, health, behavioral health, workforce and education services. He also launched a nonprofit venture-philanthropy firm that leverages and invests financial resources to improve the quality of education across Philadelphia’s school system. Mr. Torres plays a leadership role in Pennsylvania and beyond. In 2008, he was one of 10 Americans to receive the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship, which honors emerging leaders from around the world, and was recognized by Leadership Philadelphia as one of the 101 Philadelphia Connectors. Mr. Torres has served on the boards of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Children’s Scholarship Fund, Pan American Academy Charter School and as a Human Relations Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia.

Arch Street Press is part of the Institute for Leadership Education, Advancement and Development (I-LEAD), a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit with offices in Bryn Mawr and Reading. It has served as a key force for community leadership development since 1995, fostering a degreed citizenry to tangibly improve and sustain the economic, civic and social well-being of communities.